This invention, which resulted from a contract with the United States Department of Energy, relates to an absorption heat pump system for utilizing heat in a liquid to increase the temperature of a portion of the same liquid or the temperature of another liquid.
Very large quantities of waste heat at low temperatures are rejected daily from industrial plants throughout the world. Other sources of low-temperature heat are also available (e.g., geothermal and solar) with a total energy value equivalent to many millions of tons of fossil fuel. In order to make effective use of this heat, it is often necessary to boost its temperature typically by 10.degree. C. to 60.degree. C. Different heat pump cycles have been considered for doing this, the most common of which require electricity as a source of power. The absorption cycle is one of the more promising and has the advantage of using part of the waste heat to power itself, while boosting the temperature of the rest.